Guillermo del Toro will receive the Visual Effects Society Award for Creative Excellence during the 20th VES Awards, which also marks the Society’s 25th anniversary.
The award, which will be presented March 8 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, recognizes individuals for contributions to the visual effects industry. “Guillermo is a fiercely inventive storyteller, who has pushed the boundaries of filmmaking,” said VES board chair Lisa Cooke. “An exemplary talent, he has consistently elevated not just the technical aspect of visual effects, but also the emotional. Guillermo is an amazing creative force and a defining voice in our global community, and his body of work is a rich source of inspiration for future generations of artists and innovators.”
Del Toro received Academy Awards for best director and best picture for The Shape of Water, which also won Oscars for production design and score. His follow-up, Nightmare Alley, has received four Academy Award nominations including best picture.
His upcoming projects include his stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio and the Netflix anthology series Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities.
He has directed films including Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Pacific Rim. As a producer, credits include Biutiful, Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss in Boots. Del Toro studied makeup effects with artist Dick Smith and later spent 10 years as a special-effects makeup designer and formed his own company, Necropia. He also co-founded the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
